Volume 2 - CH 428

TL Rant : I wonder how to stop an elderly from smoking.

10-14 From the beginning

Wait, why does Asure know about the voice?

Did Uchikage tell them…?

No, no, no, it shouldn’t be.

They shouldn’t even mention the name… Oh, but maybe they had to tell for the sake of explaining this plan… or something like that?

If it’s about the Evil God, they could mention it, so maybe that’s what they conveyed.

Well, if that’s the case, I can understand… Let’s just listen to what they have to say for now.

“Did Uchikage tell you?”

“I didn’t know the details until they told me. But we were aware that the devils were planning something.”

“Hee, that’s amazing…”

“It’s not a big deal. After all, my father was being controlled by the devil’s charm.”

“Seriously!?”

“That incident too, the devil had a hand in it. Uchikage’s hometown and the Bamil territory… Slaves were involved with the devils, and my father, the most powerful figure, covered it up. It took quite some time to uncover all this, but it wasn’t in vain. Thanks to that, I was able to quickly accept Uchikage’s story and now we’re implementing the plan predicted by Houen-san.”

I see… Well, I already knew about that, but I never expected Asure to know so much.

No, this is…

“Balt, huh?”

“Yes, I couldn’t have reached this point on my own.”

“He’s just as clever as Houen, so I don’t want to make an enemy out of him.”

“I agree with that.”

“I hear a rude conversation, or am I imagining it?”

Bart opens the door and walks towards us.

He must have incredible hearing to hear the conversation from there.

That’s even scarier.

…He’s still so small.

But despite that, he possesses intelligence equal to or even surpassing Huoen. It’s impressive.

Bart sits next to Asure and eats a snack.

After swallowing it, he looks at Houen.

“This is the second time meeting you, Houen-kun.”

“Long time no see. I was indebted to you at the Oni Village.”

“I didn’t do anything, though.”

He waves his hand lightly, trying to be humble.

But he brought supplies for us at that time.

It was probably Bart’s instruction, so there’s no way he didn’t do anything.

However, since it was coming from the person themselves, Houen and Asure didn’t particularly press for further investigation.

Rather, Houen seems to want to progress the conversation.

“Bart-sama, I reviewed this plan once again myself, and there are no concerns. If there is anything, please let me know.”

“Y-You’re so formal… I didn’t expect your friend to be someone with common sense, Hoen-kun!”

“Huh? The hell man–“

“Well, let’s get to the point.”

I was completely cut off.

Well, it’s true that I don’t use honorifics with the royal family, but using them now would be awkward!

“Well, um… I think two out of the three things you’re thinking about, Houen-kun, are indeed effective. But one is definitely wrong.”

“What are you referring to?”

“The method we’re using right now… using these souls.”

“………………Ah.”

“Do you realize it?”

“I forgot. I speculated based on my own experiences…”

“Hold on, explain it.”

Neither Asure nor I understand what you guys are talking about!

“Oh, I see.”

“!?”

Wait, Asure, did you understand it?

Wait, don’t leave me behind!

Explain it to me too!!

“Well… um, if I explain it in a way that’s easy for Oren to understand…”

“Well, it would be nice if you could increase your vocabulary a bit.”

“Then, in a normal way. I was trying to find a solution based on what happened in the Salettana Kingdom and the Bamil territory. But the devils also caused destruction in other places.”

“I know that. It was written on the map shown by the Devil Lord’s Mana, right?”

“That’s right. In other regions, just like in the Salettana Kingdom and the Bamil territory, a large number of monsters swarmed in, right? Or rather that’s my guess. After all, Uchikage’s hometown couldn’t counter attack. That’s the gist of it, right?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it…”

If tens of thousands of troops attacked a single country or territory, it should spread to neighboring countries.

In fact, the incident in the Salettana Kingdom and the Bamil territory has already spread, and it seems that some countries have started devising defense measures.

But I haven’t heard similar stories elsewhere.

So, that means… there have been no cases where a large army of devils attacked a country.

Using the souls of killed monsters to prevent the revival of the Voice seems unlikely.

Upon closer examination, if devils were truly using souls to prevent their revival, they should have sent weaker monsters.

By having humans kill them, the problem could be solved.

But their objective was to reduce the number of humans.

Considering that, this plan is incorrect.

“I should do-… There were plenty of clues…”

“Well, yeah. But, you know, things you’ve experienced first hand tend to stick in your mind. I thought about it from a distance, on paper. Information that’s deeply ingrained from experience and relatively harmless information. You need to consider both.”

“It’s a learning experience.”

Hmm, does it really change with a minor oversight…?

If that’s the case, should we just consume magical power?

That seems relatively easy, though…

“Then, we need to move on to the next plan urgently.”

“Yeah. Well, if we combine the soldiers’ power, it should be quick… Hey, Houen-kun. How much magical power do you think we should use?”

“Sorry, I don’t know either. I only speculated on the method. There’s no clear criterion for what would prevent the revival.”

“Hmm… It’s a difficult situation.”

I don’t think it’s that difficult.

Isn’t it almost impossible to determine?

We can’t see magical power, and there are no specific effects…

What we know is the devils… what were they called?

Daroslaina, was it?

I wonder how they always determine the location.

If that’s the case, it should be enough to call them over…

Are monsters not included in this ?

If that’s the case, it might be difficult.

“But we have no choice but to try.”

“Yeah. When I heard it was a evil god, I was surprised, but if devils are on our side… it might explain their actions so far if they were trying to prevent their revival.”

“Is that so?”

“Even though they said they would kill humans, they didn’t harm the fleeing people. They didn’t chase after those who escaped. The only ones they killed were the people who confronted them.”

They investigated the places that were destroyed…

Until Houen saw the map brought by Mana, he didn’t know where else they were active.

Well, it’s not limited to Houen alone.

It’s amazing that Bart and the others investigated it.

What kind of information network do they have?

Asure stood up and gathered all the documents spread out on the table.

“Let’s get started right away. However… the existence of the evil god is really something…”

“I thought the same. Uchikage-kun, Maria Guildmaster, they don’t tell us anything. Do you know anything about that?”

“…No, they must not say it… I can only say that.”

“I see. Well, it’s okay.”

Bart jumped down from his chair and approached Asure.

He leaned forward slightly and looked at us.

“I trust you guys. And isn’t it cool to help without asking too many questions?”

“…We were definitely asking a lot of questions just now…”

“Come on, get on board, Ouren-kun!”

“Huh!? Sorry!?”

Why am I apologizing…?

Well, it’s genuinely grateful and pleasing to have them help us without knowing the full details.

From their perspective, it’s like repaying a favor, but being trusted is also a boost of confidence.

They’ve helped us this far, so we can’t just say “we failed” and leave it at that.

We don’t have a way to know if we succeeded, but let’s give it our all.

I also stood up and placed my hand on Hakuryu.

“Count on us. Asure, Bart.”

“Leave it to us!”

“We leave it to you, Ouren-san.”